Gas prices have been soaring nationwide for sometime now. As of March 2011, the national gas price average is $3.56 and rising. For many enthusiasts that may sound like the death knell for the cars they know and love. We can hear it now, “No more supercharged V8s, no more twin turbocharged V6s. Goodbye Mustangs, goodbye Corvettes.” It really sounds like a bleak outlook for enthusiasts who live, breathe, and eat these cars (not literally, of course).
Luckily, that doesn’t have to be our future. As many of you are already aware, many companies are making great strides to preserve performance cars for all of us. They’re using new technologies to not only make sports and super cars faster, but they’re using those same technologies to make them more fuel efficient, giving us hope that there will be no end to the fast cars that we love.
That’s where we come in. We have come up with our list of the Top 10 Hybrid Sports and Super Cars that all utilize new technologies to make them faster, more fun, and more fuel-efficient. All of these cars are either on sale now, will be in the future, or will have their technologies transferred into production cars within the next few years.
Hit the jump to check out are list of top ten hybrid sports and super cars.
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Just when we were starting to get used to the idea of a Porsche sedan to go along with the small family of SUVs produced by the German automaker, they go ahead and start working on another rendition that may leave us scratching our heads.
Rumors on the web suggest that Porsche is working on a junior version of their Panamera which will resemble the relationship the Cajun has to the Cayenne. They might have even come up with a name for it. Unoriginally so, the future "baby" Panamera may be called...wait for it...the Pajun (Panamera Junior).
The future Porsche Pajun will follow along the design lines of the Panamera, but with smaller proportions. It will also feature its six-and eight-cylinder gasoline engines, as well as the hybrid and six-cylinder diesel options. Power will range from 400 to 560 hp, with the diesel coming in at about 300 hp. Prices for the future model will start from about 60,000 euro or about $85,000 at the current exchange rates.
As of right now, there isn’t an official configuration from Porsche on the so-called Pajun, but they have confirmed a convertible version for the Panamera due out in 2012. Let’s just hope that, if the "baby" Panamera does make it, it comes with a better name.
If earlier today BMW announced their 1-Series M Coupe Safety Car for the Moto GP events, Porsche announced that a Panamera will also be used as a Safety Car, but this time for the 2011 American Le Mans Series. The safety car is of course based on the most powerful version - the Turbo, a model powered by a 4.8-liter twin turbocharged V8 engine that delivers a total of 500 HP. While all we have on the car is a first image, we expect to see several modifications made in order to adopt the car’s specifications to the racing series.
"The Porsche Panamera gives us an official safety car unmatched in motorsports," Ed Triolo, ALMS VP of Marketing and Brand Development said. "This reinforces the commitment and partnership between the American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón and Porsche, one of the world’s greatest sports cars that has had extraordinary success in the ALMS and IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge by Yokohama. It is a perfect fit."
Here we are again. Another German tuning company, DMC, has taken its own stab at a Porsche Panamera, giving the popular flagship sedan a performance and aerodynamic package that keeps in line with the company’s vision of designing ‘simple yet dynamic’ tuning programs.
Among the additions given to the body of the Panamera are a new carbon fiber front lip spoiler, carbon fiber side grills, and a carbon fiber rear diffuser. All three parts not only give the Panamera aerodynamic improvements, but also showcases a more aggressive Porsche sports sedan.
In terms of performance, DMC took the sports car’s 4.8-liter twin-turbo engine and bumped up the output from its standard 500 horsepower and 516 lb/ft of torque all the way up to 580 horsepower and 605 lb/ft of torque, courtesy of an OEM integrated sports button.
The changes aren’t as drastic or overwhelming as what we’ve seen from other tuners, but where DMC lacks in flair and pizzazz, it certainly makes up with a no-nonsense approach that gives the Panamera the aerodynamic and performance improvements it needs to become more powerful and look more aggressive than a standard Panamera.
A ripple of excitement began a few days ago when Porsche first announced that they would be bringing a new hybrid model to the 2011 Geneva Motor Show. There were plenty of models we would have liked to see clutching on to a hybrid engine setup. In fact, we were expecting an alligator-sized model to be causing this movement in the water, but instead, it seems we are getting more of a stray leaf than a full-blown animal. When the Geneva Motor Show opens its doors in March, Porsche will be unmasking their new Panamera S Hybrid. Oh joy (insert sarcasm here).
It’s not a secret that many of us don’t exactly share the same enthusiasm for the Porsche luxury sedan as does Porsche or any of the sedan’s owners. We simply can’t understand why Porsche would create a speedy family-carrying sedan. That being said, there are many fans of the Panamera out there and we guess that keeping up with the times and going green would be the next logical step.
The new Porsche Panamera S Hybrid is will be getting all of its powertrain and technological cues from the Cayenne S Hybrid. Under the hood, we’ll find a 3.0 liter V6 compressor engine with an output of 333 HP combined with an electric motor that adds an extra 47 HP. With this hybrid system, the Panamera will deliver a fuel economy of 39.79 mpg.
The new model will go on sale this June, with prices in the US market prices starting from $ 95,000.
Hit the jump to read more about the Porsche Panamera S Hybrid.
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